Jealousy
by Tsukino Akume
Summary: Tyzonn's return and budding relationship with Ronny doesn't sit well with Mack.


Disclaimer: It's a very good thing for any fans of Operation Overdrive that I don't own the Power Rangers. Mack, Tyzonn, and Will are the only things I like about that series, besides the uniforms. If it was mine, there would be very little still recognizable about it.

The episode when Mack befriends Tyzonn was so freakin' suggestive it was hilarious. Then they turned him human, and all of a sudden he's hooking up with **Ronny**? What the-?! Where did that come from?

So, for Mack, I made this. -Shrugs- I've seen all of maybe five episodes of Overdrive, so I'm not sure how accurate it is, but this plot bunny just wouldn't leave me alone.. For one thing, I can't see well enough to tell what color Tyzonn's eyes are, so I'm making it up. (Stupid TV reception-I want cable!) I plan to try and continue it, but it depends on what the series gives me to work with for my idea. ...And how much of the series I actually see. c.c;;;

In the meantime, enjoy!

Jealousy

For one moment, he had hated her.

He shouldn't. She was his **teammate** for crying out loud. That sort of feeling was just **wrong**. Just because she...

It was stupid, and immature, and completely uncalled for. He should be more mature about this. He was letting personal feelings interfere with the mission. After everything they'd been through together, he shouldn't be...

Jealous.

Just thinking the word left a bitter taste in his mouth. He was jealous of Ronny. Because Ronny was getting close to Tyzonn, and Tyzonn was showing interest in her.

He closed his eyes, clenching his fists and fighting the urge to punch something.

It wasn't fair! **He** was the one who'd realized there was more to Tyzonn, and he wasn't just working for Moltar. He was the one who befriended him, who convinced him to help them that first time. **Ronny** had tried to **destroy** him! Why did she get-

With a frustrated cry, he whirled and punched his climbing wall.

There was a long moment of silence. Then he whimpered faintly, holding his hand. Well, at least he hadn't tapped into his Powers. He still had a climbing wall. A wrist on the other hand...

"That didn't seem to be a productive move."

He closed his eyes again. Great. Just great. "Yeah, well. I'm not exactly the brains of Operation Overdrive, am I?"

A warm hand took his, inspecting it. "Nothing's broken. You'll be fine." The voice was even warmer, colored by dry amusement.

He forced a smile to his face. "Benefits of being a Ranger."

Tyzonn nodded in that solemn way he had, but his eyes were sparkling with amusement. He glanced down at his wrist again, squeezing gently. "You may want to avoid punching more walls, however."

He scowled, yanking the hand away. "Thanks for the advice." he muttered in annoyance.

"It's the least I can do, after everything you have done for me."

"Anytime." It came out as a sigh, and he fought back a wince. He'd better make his escape quick. "Well, I gotta...check up on...stuff. I'll um, catch you later." He bolted without waiting for a response, inwardly cursing. "Smooth Mack, real smooth." he mumbled under his breath.

* * *

Usually running helped to clear his head. That was why he enjoyed it so much, and why he ran so often. Today, it just left him more time to think. 

So he was gay. He'd figured that out awhile ago. He'd dealt with it, gotten over it, and gotten past it. Spencer knew he was gay-he was the first one he'd gone to talk to about it. He'd finally told his dad a few months later. They'd both been supportive, though only his dad had seemed surprised. That was all over and done with a couple years ago.

The team did **not** know, and he still wasn't sure if he wanted to tell them yet. Trusting them to watch his back was one thing; trusting them with his secrets was something else entirely. They hadn't exactly known each other long enough for that sort of decision yet.

Not that it was really a secret, per say. He didn't hide what he was; he just didn't like being obvious about it. There was a reason it was called your 'private life', after all. If one of the others wanted to know he wasn't going to lie, but he didn't see any reason to make it a team announcement.

Besides, he still wasn't sure how they'd handle it. And frankly, he didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable. Dealing with more team issues on top of their duties wasn't exactly going to help anything.

He'd been slightly worried already about having what could have been seen as 'moments' with both Ronny and Rose. Thankfully, neither of them had really pursued it. Dax wasn't his type, but he **had** eyed him once or twice. No harm in looking after all.

Will was...different. He sighed and laughed softly. Will had...appeal, and lots of it. He didn't see him as anything more than a friend, but he had to admit, he didn't mind admiring the package.

Then he'd met Tyzonn.

The smile faded.

Something about Tyzonn had drawn him to him, even before he'd known who he really was or what he looked like. Something about him was...warm. Serious, but somehow gentle. The way he'd been so anxious to fix what he'd done spoke of a good heart.

Then he **saw** what Tyzonn really looked like.

He shuddered slightly, and groaned. Did he have to look like **that**? Tall, good features, great hair-he had a thing for nice hair. And his **eyes**... They were a sort of silvery blue, with an incredible warmth to them, hidden by an unbearable sadness.

Tyzonn was someone he had found himself drawn to emotionally, attracted to physically, and interested in getting to know. But then he'd left, and he'd been forced to wonder if he'd ever see him again. Then he came **back** and...

And now he was ignoring him completely, and flirting with Ronny.

He wanted to hit something again.

"Something wrong?"

He glanced to his right. "Hey, Will."

"You're brooding." the Black Ranger informed him pointedly.

He laughed nervously. "Am I?"

Will rolled his eyes. "You're one of the worst liars I've ever met, you know that?"

He frowned, insulted. "Dax is worse."

"Of course he is; he's **Dax**. But you're still a terrible liar."

He sighed, slowing his jog. He kind of wanted to talk to someone, but he didn't want to drag Will into it.

"You could always tell her to back off from your man."

He stopped so abruptly he nearly fell, staring incredulously at his smirking companion. "W-what?!"

The smirk widened. "You're way more obvious about Tyzonn than you think you are."

He gaped at him.

Will chuckled, shaking his head. "Man, if anyone with **eyes** ever notices you when you talk to him, they're gonna know. Besides, you get seriously ticked off whenever Ronny comes into the room."

He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "How long have you known?"

"I wondered once or twice, since you never seemed that interested in either of the girls. For sure once Tyzonn turned human."

"Mercurian." he corrected absently.

He glanced at Will again in the sudden silence and found himself being watched with an amused expression. "What?" he asked warily.

Will shook his head again. "You are **so** obvious."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Don't think so. I know Ronny doesn't."

He resisted the urge to clench his fists again. Would it make a difference if she did? he wondered silently. "What about Rose and Dax?"

Will shrugged. "No idea." He gave him another amused glance. "We don't exactly going around discussing your preferences."

That made him smile. "I guess not."

"He's interested, you know."

The snort slipped out before he could stop it. "No, he isn't."

"Hey, who's the surveillance expert here? He's **likes** Ronny. He **wants** you."

He sighed, leaning his head back to stare at the sky. "The first time he's talked to me alone since he came back was this morning. It wouldn't exactly be difficult if he wanted to find me."

"How do you know he's not trying to work up the courage to talk to you?"

He snorted again. "Tyzonn? Afraid?"

"He's not as invincible we all make him out to be."

"Of course he isn't." He frowned. "If he was invincible, Moltar never would have gotten to him in the first place. Then we never would have met him."

"And you won't have fallen for him." Will agreed.

He shot him a glare. "We've known him for all of three weeks. I'm **not** in love with him."

"Yet." Will returned, smirking again. "But you'd like to start something, right?"

He was silent for a long moment. At last he rubbed his head again, sighing. "Yeah." he muttered. "If Ronny wasn't-"

"Hey man, **forget** about Ronny for a minute. Forget about the team, forget about the mission, forget about all the excuses you keep coming up with. If it was just you and Tyzonn, would you want to start something?"

He closed his eyes. "Yeah."

There were several minutes of silence, and he sighed again. He wasn't ashamed to admit that he was interested in Tyzonn. And yeah, if he could, he'd like to know more about him. A lot more. But that didn't change the fact that-

A hand settled on his shoulder. "I am glad to hear that." came a soft voice.

He jumped a mile, spinning around as his eyes shot wide. "Don't **do** that!" he snapped, cursing himself inwardly for letting down his guard.

Tyzonn watched him with a smile that seemed soft somehow. "I apologize for startling you." He held out a hand, the smile widening. "Perhaps we should talk?"

Mack paused, eyes widening. "...H-how much of that conversation did you hear?"

A slightly guilty look slipped over Tyzonn's face. "I must confess, it was me who asked Will to speak to you. I was...concerned." he admitted, looking sheepish.

He stared at him. "You...this whole time you..." Embarrassment was quickly overrun by anger. "How **dare** you-"

Tyzonn caught his wrist, holding tightly. "Please." His expression was almost pleading. "I apologize. I didn't mean to offend you. I wished to know... I have heard that Earth is not as...comfortable, with attraction between males. I wasn't certain if you would be offended by me."

He subsided somewhat, eyeing him. "Some people are bothered by it. It's becoming more accepted, but not everyone can handle it. Are Mercurians...?"

"My people are open to love between all genders." Tyzonn supplied. He tilted his head slightly. "I believe your planet calls it..."

"Bi." he answered, then frowned. "Well, there's another word for it, but I can't-" He looked frustrated. "I still can't believe Dad put a language censor in the Morphers."

Tyzonn smiled. "Actually, all Power Rangers are unable to use vulgar language. It's part of using the Power itself."

"Oh." His frown deepened. "Well, that stinks."

"...Mack?"

He looked up again, blinking. "Hmm?"

Tyzonn seemed hesitant. "There's something I wish to do, but I'm uncertain how you will react. I don't mean to offend you-"

"There's nothing you could do that would offend me." he interrupted, his expression completely serious.

Tyzonn watched him for a moment, then slowly smiled. He stepped closer, coming almost nose to nose with him. Then he turned slightly, reaching an arm around him, and carefully laid a hand against the small of his back.

Mack stiffened slightly. The touch was feather-light, but somehow... Looking into Tyzonn's eyes, he found them watching him hesitantly. He held in the urge to shiver; somehow he knew this wasn't a casual gesture. "This...what does this mean in your culture?" he managed.

"An expression of intimacy, between two people." Tyzonn answered quietly, still watching him. "My people don't touch often with hands. I know that Earth is...different. I have been attempting to adapt myself."

He winced as he remembered all the times the team had automatically patted his shoulder or grabbed his arm. "Oh. Yeah...we, uh..."

After a moment he noticed the hand was still there. Realizing abruptly just what it meant Tyzonn was doing, he flushed. "That's..."

Tyzonn immediately began to pull away. "I apolo-"

Mack grabbed his wrist. He looked into those incredible silver-blue eyes and smiled. "There are a lot of different cultures on Earth. This is what mine does for intimacy." He leaned forward, tilted his head up slightly, and kissed him.

It was several moments before they separated, and between the hand that had found its way to his back again and the kiss itself, Mack found himself tingling all over. He was fighting back the urge to giggle or sigh like a girl. The word 'Wow' was on the tip of his tongue, and it was a struggle to keep it in. Instead, he looked up at Tyzonn and smiled.

The look he received in return warmed him all the way to his toes.

Leaning forward again, he touched their noses together with a smile. "That's called a kiss. So what do you think?"

"I believe I could enjoy more of these 'kisses'." Tyzonn answered quietly. "And this...?"

He smiled, nuzzling Tyzonn slightly. "There's not really much of a name for it. It's just...another way of showing you care for someone." He didn't want to say it, but to be honest, it had simply felt like the natural thing to do next.

"Does this mean that we're..." Tyzonn hesitated. "I believe Will called it 'dating'?"

He blinked as his heartbeat quickened. "Well... Not necessarily. But we could-if you wanted to, I mean." A thought occurred to him, and his heart abruptly sank to his feet instead. "But...we don't...I mean, I don't like to date more than one person at a time..."

Tyzonn seemed to study him again, then suddenly smiled. "My people are only intimate with one person." He tilted his head again. "I'm afraid there is still much I don't know about Earth. You will have to teach me."

A slow grin spread over Mack's face. "I don't mind in the least." he murmured, leaning in for another kiss.


End file.
